<p>The study evaluates surveillance-based methods for protecting children online and proposes a rights-based solution which protects children while maintaining adult privacy rights. The paper establishes online child sexual exploitation prevention as an essential state objective yet it shows that authorities do not require monitoring all digital communication channels through their ongoing digital surveillance programmes. Through its use of anonymous usernames and end-to-end encrypted messaging and privacy-focused platforms, adults can participate in consensual communication without having to worry about their family members or society or their social standing or their safety. Blanket surveillance of entire populations, especially those already at risk, is shown to be a disproportionate measure that may cause more harm than it prevents. The study establishes its foundation on Indian constitutional principles, which include K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India, as it combines the principles of legality and necessity and proportionality with statutory protections from the Information Technology Act and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023. The paper proposes a complaint-based, design-oriented child protection framework centred on platform responsibility, targeted investigations, user reporting mechanisms, and education. The study shows that privacy rights and child protection rights can coexist within constitutional and ethical frameworks through its definition of child protection as a governance and empowerment problem instead of a surveillance need.</p>